The system is 10.7 miles, or 17.2km long. It is a fully automated system that runs off of a 750VDC third rail.
The system serves the metropolitan area of San Juan, which also includes the municipalities of Bayamon and Guaynabo.
There are 16 stations along the line, of which there is only one.
The Tren Urbano complements other forms of public transportation on the island such as a public bus system, taxis, water ferries and shuttles. The entire mass transportation system has been dubbed the Alternativa de Transporte Integrado (Integrated Transportation Alternative) or “ATI”.
In typical heavy rail tradition, a "single railcar" is actually two permanently connected cars - neither of which can operate without the other because systems between the two are shared. The system has 74 cars. A single two car set is used off peak hours, two two-car sets are used during rush hours.
Construction took about 6 years, and cost approximately 2.28 Billion US dollars. The system officially opened for weekend trips on December 19th, 2004, and was free until April 2005, when weekday service was added. Revenue service started on June 6th, 2005. Ridership has not been as high as expected, and as a result, fares were cut in half to try to lure more people to ride the system.
If we look at the destinations the system DOES NOT serve, such as Old San Juan, Santurce, the Airport, and important suburbs like Catano, Toa Baja, Carolina, Toa Alta, Canovanas, and Trujillo Alto, one can see why ridership may not be what was expected.
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